adopted daughter with no status

S

soulsurfer

Registered Users (C)
Hi
Im an adopted daughter of a us citizen couples. I was taken from Taiwan when I was 1 yr old with a visa to come to Canada. back then, I also have a taiwan passport, which now is expired.
in any event, our plane landed in Detroit MI and my parents then took me to Florida instead of continuing to Canada. While in Florida, I was formally adopted by my parents through the Florida Court.

I grew up here without a greencard, ss#, or any form of ID.

I am now 19 yrs old and need to straighten out my status.

confused and dont have a clue on what to do.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

sign confused
 
follow up info.

I was told by my parents that they had adopted me from a taiwan orphanage. I was on the verge of death in the orphanage when they found me and nursed me back to health. thereafter, they got a passport for me and took me with they....
though this info might help.

sign Confused
 
You should contact a good immigration lawyer. I heard that there are laws to grant PR status (even citizenship) for childern who lived here long enough and are out of status.
 
your adoptive parents are US citizens, you have an adoption certificate, your adoption was finalized in the US, you have resided in the US since, and you were under 18 in 2001
google "the child citizen act of 2000".
Am I missing something? you might be a us citizen
 
the child citizen act of 2000

I did some research on this law and found the followings.....

"A child who enters the United States on an IR4 visa (to be adopted in the United States) will acquire American citizenship when the adoption is full and final in the United States."

in my case, my mother just carried me in without an IR4 visa or a green card.

"A child who has lawful permanent residence (LPR status) will have a permanent resident card (green card). Another way to show LPR status is the I-551 stamp in the child''s passport. This stamp shows the child has entered the United States on an immigrant visa and/or has been admitted as a lawful permanent resident."

i dont have any of the above so im afraid I dont qualify under the law as you mentioned.

Can you please clarify for me scootersmom?

thank you again for your precious advise.
 
the good and the bad news

Hello, soulsurfer!

The child citizen act of 2000 does not apply to you.
You had to be in a legal status (green card in hand) prior your 18th birthday to benefit from that law.

There are two ways to immigrate an adopted child to USA.

1.Form I-600, "Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative (Orphan Petition).
It would give you a visa, plus LPR status and from there straightforward to citizenship.
But - Your parents had to file it before your 16th birthday. It’s too late now. :(

2.Immigration/Adoption of child based on 2-years residence through submitting Form I-130:
Since you were adopted before you turned 16 and you lived with your adaptive parents, who were your primary caregivers for two years (cumulatively, not necessarily continuously and in your situation it’s way more then two years already) then your mom or dad may file an I-130 petition for you (their alien relative :rolleyes: ). The petition may be filed even after the 16th birthday, and the two years may culminate after the 16th birthday.

At the same time, or right after your I-130 approved, you will have to file I-485 with fees and all supporting documents and wait for your GC like the rest of us on this forum. And then you’ll be eligible for naturalization only after 5 years. :eek:

Your parents gave you a new life by bringing you here, it’s a shame they never file any paperwork for you. You would be a citizen already. Since you an adult,
the process is longer and more complicated for you now. :confused:

You might want to talk to the immigration lawyer to see if there is any way to speed it up.
Good luck!
:)
 
Thank You Ms Green For Your Advise

I Want To Write Back As Soon As I Got Your Reply Ms Green To Thank You For Your Insightful Advise.

I Have Printed Your Reply And Will Use It As A Reference For Me.

In Addition, I Want To Thank You Scoootermom And Logicators For Your Replies To!!!!!


Im On My Way To Imigration Service Now To Apply The I 130.

Thank You
 
It looks like I might have sent you in the wrong direction...I'm so sorry for that.
It just seemed to me that you would have legal presence the whole time since you must have entered legally (or the Detroit airport would have turned you away I figure), and your adoption was finalized here in the US. Plus, I didn't think IR-3s and 4s were even issued 20 years ago. I'm not a lawyer - I'm just sharing thoughts and I didn't mean to mislead you.
I hope everything goes well for you
 
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